05/2 Ella +11=369,pmps 385

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Re: 05/2 Ella +11 and a bit=331

I can also get a +2 and will be home at lunch wich will be +6
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11 and a bit=331

Good morning.
My cat kept me up last night.
I'm going to test, shot, and feed. Why don't you do the 6:00am test, and let me know what it is.
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11 and a bit=331

She's dropping, so I think you should skip. What do you think?
She's almost yellow.
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11 and a bit=331

this was the same number as yesterday's pre shot number and she went up!
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11 and a bit=331

she went up in the middle of the night and then came back down a bit.
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11 and a bit=331

How about one more quick test, and then if she's the same, and you want to give her at the zero line of insulin, go ahead. You'll be home for a +1 and a +2 and will be able to come home for lunch?
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11 and a bit=331

yes I will be home..should i test now or at 6:30?
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11 and a bit=331

Test now, please. It will be fine.

By the way, that +11 is more like a +35 or something like that.
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11 and a bit=331 ambg 313

She was 331. I gave her the zero line. I'm not even positive there was anything in there. How can I ensure that there is? Do you put it at .5 and then count drops and leave one in?
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11 and a bit=331 ambg 313

another question: i've always pulled back on the syringe to ensure i don't hit a vein. Is this bad to do for teeny doses? I saw a million air bubbles.
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11 and a bit=331 ambg 313

I've never done the drop method. I've just always worked really really hard to get all the bubbles out first, like with a unit in the syringe, and usually wasting lots of (little teeny bits of) insulin, by squirting the insulin in the sink and starting over again (it's very frustrating when you're in a hurry, and not used to microdosing :roll: ), and when I finally have what I believe to be a syringe with insulin and no bubbles, then I slowly push out to 0.10, and then even slower push out to the zero line. That's what I do.
Also, be sure to hold the syringe in the cat once your shot, for a few seconds while holding the plunger pressed in the whole time, and also keeping the plunger pressed in while you take the needle out.

Good luck, today.
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11 and a bit=331

I'm not sure what you mean by +35.

Dyana said:
Test now, please. It will be fine.

By the way, that +11 is more like a +35 or something like that.
Click to expand...
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11 and a bit=331 ambg 313

April 30th was the last day you shot insulin. Yesterday morning at normal PS time she was at +12, last night at normal PS time she was at +24, I think that makes this morning's 5:00am test a +35. Anyway, you start over now with a +1 and +2 etc, since you gave her a shot.
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11 and a bit=331 ambg 313

Thanks Dyana!

I will be here for +1 and +2. If she does anything funny I'll board her.
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333

+1=333
hard to say if she even got anything form the syringe. I'm assuming if her shed was empty, it will need to fill now before it gets used properly?
Am I right in thinking that we could see her in the pinks for the next couple of cycles?
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333

Hi Tamara,
It is distressing to get so many air bubbles. Are you drawing the Lantus from a Solostar pen or from the vial? If from the pen, I have read that many people push the button on the bottom of the pen before they try to draw insulin from it. This might take out some of the bubbles. If the problem is with the syringe, the technique of pushing out all the air by holding the plunger in forcefully while you insert the needle into the pen or vial really helps. I wouldn't worry about hitting a vein. Insert the needle all the way into Ella's tented skin. Shoot the dose, and count to 5 while still holding the syringe in the cat with the plunger pushed all the way in. Then withdraw the syringe.
When expelling excess insulin from the syringe prior to shooting, it is much easier to twist the plunger instead of pushing it.

Good luck today,

Ella & Rusty
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333

Thanks Ella:) I use a vial and have tried all the tricks you mentioned:) Perhpas my needles are bad for air bubbles!

While I appreciate all the "good lucks", they are making me wonder if I did the right thing. It seemed pretty clear from Jill and Libby that if she was not in the yellows or dropping fast that it 'should' be ok to shoot at the zero line. I just did her +2 at 364
It seems pretty safe to leave..no? I mean don't the +1, and 2's tell us how the cycle will go?
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333+2=364

Hi again,
It is generally believed that if +2 is about the same as AMPS (within the 20% meter variance), the kitty is not going to do any drastic dropping. Ella may decide to honor this belief today! In any event, you have to go to work, so leave out food and try to get home to check her at lunch time.

I'll say "good luck" just to make you happy!!

Ella
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333+2=364

that +2 is a great indicator of how things are going to go. because you've skipped a couple of shots, the shed would've drained some as well.

doesn't look like she's diving this morning. i think you did the right thing, tamara.

some syringes are definitely worse than others for bubbles. sounds like you've got bad ones, especially when you're working with a vial. the vials don't usually have such problems with bubbles. when you look at your vial, like hold it up in the air, are there tiny bubbles along the inside of the bottle or in the fluid? or are you only seeing bubbles in the syringes?
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333+2=364

sorry I didn't post last night or this morning, but I agree with what you did. The only thing that was making me nervous before was Ella's tendency to take a big dive early in the cycle, and the fact that she was not easy to bring back up when she did. Because you were able to get a +2 today, and because you have proven that you can be trusted to keep Ella safe, I'm comfortable with you shooting that small dose this morning.

Her shed has hopefully drained enough that over the next couple of cycles we'll be able to see what this dose can do, without all that pesky shed action clouding the picture. ;-) I'm a LOT more comfortable now than I was a few days ago, so thank you for putting in the extra work to get the data.

I know the high numbers are stressful for you, but knowing Ella I bet she won't stay in them for very long.
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333+2=364

hello...no time to chat +6=333
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333+2=364

Do you think you can get your hands on some U-40 syringes? They worked really well when I had to shoot 1 drop.

MJ
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333+2=364

Thanks for your posts:)

I try my hardest to keep her safe but it's still gut wrenching to leave home not knowing where she will go. I will not have the car tomorrow so there is no possibility of a lunch hour check. Unless I move my shot time back to 6:00am (30 min earlier) than I can't get a +2. However even if I get a +2 and it is low, she can't be trusted to eat on her own. She's been cleaning her plate lately...unassisted... but the food needs to be warmed. I wonder how I will be able to keep her safe and keep my self sane:)?
Any suggestions?
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333+2=364

Libby and Lucy said:
sorry I didn't post last night or this morning, but I agree with what you did. The only thing that was making me nervous before was Ella's tendency to take a big dive early in the cycle, and the fact that she was not easy to bring back up when she did. Because you were able to get a +2 today, and because you have proven that you can be trusted to keep Ella safe, I'm comfortable with you shooting that small dose this morning.

Her shed has hopefully drained enough that over the next couple of cycles we'll be able to see what this dose can do, without all that pesky shed action clouding the picture. ;-) I'm a LOT more comfortable now than I was a few days ago, so thank you for putting in the extra work to get the data.

I know the high numbers are stressful for you, but knowing Ella I bet she won't stay in them for very long.
Click to expand...
i agree with libby. i would have shot this morning, too.
between the skipped & reduced shots the insulin depot has been drained. now we have the opportunity to see what this dose can do without the picture being clouded from any residual action from prior injections.

think of it this way... in essence we are starting over since we know ella is sensitive to small doses. we can build on this dose. the dose can be increased by drops if necessary. increasing in tiny increments will be safer for her and hopefully get her off that roller coaster ride she was on previously.

MJ+Donovan said:
Do you think you can get your hands on some U-40 syringes? They worked really well when I had to shoot 1 drop.
Click to expand...
i know mj is trying to help, but i have to caution against the use of U-40 syringes. the margin for error increases whenever a caregiver uses syringes made for other strength insulins.



just my thoughts...
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333+2=364+6=33

Ok I'm all for being safe! I'm wondering if I should have a no shoot number in the mornings and if so, what would that number be?
I realize that by skipping shots I will be messing with her shed but as I wrote earlier I am still concerned about leaving her on a daily basis as she is an unreliable eater. If I did the Go slow protocol as opposed to tight regulation could I find myself in the same situation? I'm assuming I could but looking at the spread sheets of members from that group, I can see that they test approx twice a day. Is that because they hold the doses for much longer and/or increase by different amounts?
Having a vet tech come in to check on Ella would be ideal but they would have to be extremly flexible as they might need to spend hours here sorting her out if her bg's were dropping. An alternative, which I have been thinking about but is not ideal for me, is moving up to my parent`s home and teaching my mom how to test. Unfortunately, this passes my stress on to her as well as adds a VERY long commute to work and sepreates me from my DH. If it has to be done...then it has to be done but surely there must be others that have gotten their kitties OTJ without being home 24-7? No?
Perhaps I can get some feedback from those who have been in a similar situation...although I realize Ella is unique:)
Another alternative is just getting her surfing in the blue/yellow range until I am off at the end of June. Would this route hinder her chances of going OTJ?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my posts and answer my questions:) I realize my condos have been epic these past few days and I truly appreciate all your efforts and generosity:)
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333+2=364+6=33

oh...and if she is high...can I move my shot time back 30 minutes or is it better to shave off 15 tonight and 15 tomorrow?
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333+2=364+6=33

Moving back by 30 minutes should be fine if she is still high.

I will come back to the rest of your questions later. I'm at work but wanted to see if you were home with a new number yet. :smile:
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333+2=364

I want to clarify that I am NOT advocating trying to measure Lantus dosage in a U-40 syringe by counting drops or looking at the lines on the syringe. I am only sharing that while the U-100s I was using did not have enough "spring" to suck in just one drop when the plunger was compressed, the U-40s reliably did. Perhaps there is a U-100 brand that works well for this, but I did not shop around at the time and used what I had on hand.

MJ
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11=369

Thank you for sharing MJ:) The syringes I have are making it a bit diffiult but I will try and manage the best I can. They are cheap..eli medical.
I have bd syringes but they are only marked in full units and can't find the half ones anywhere.

Julie...there are no air bubbles in the vial...sometimes i get teeny tiny ones in the syringe...they look like little stars but that is not often.
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11=369

given that you're at a drop dose right now, it probably isn't necessary to have .5u syringes at the moment, although you might want them later.
 
The bd ones are tricky to get the air bubbles out as well. I think I'm close to mastering the method...unfortunately it involves making my sink go hypo!

pmps 385
 
Hey there! Fellow canuck here and I had a hard time finding the syringes too. Seems that a lot of places don't even realize they even have them in stock! the packages are actually marked 'New' in yellow in the corner - the BD Ultra Fines, pinkish colouring on outside of bag. I finally found some at Shoppers Drug mart, make them double check the boxes! they are the BD Ultra Fine, 3/10cc 31g shorts (8mm I think)..... good luck!!! I've found that if I push the plunger in really tight BEFORE inserting into the vial, I get way fewer bubbles... might work for you? hard with such small doses! Oh.. and Walmart sometimes carries the half unit measures too!
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11=369

tpr said:
Thank you for sharing MJ:) The syringes I have are making it a bit diffiult but I will try and manage the best I can. They are cheap..eli medical.
I have bd syringes but they are only marked in full units and can't find the half ones anywhere.
Click to expand...

Hey Tamara! I've been following your crazy journey and cheering you guys on from the sidelines :) Just wanted to let you know that I got my 1/2 unit BD syringes at Loblaws Superstore, but I saw the exact same ones at Walmart: Square One, Heartland and the new one on Dixie/Dundas....just in case you're ever in the area and feel like dealing with the craziness that's usually in those locations lol. Keep up all the fantastic work you're doing!! Summer is almost here!!
 
Thanks for the tips Pip and Lil!

I will def check out those places once I run out of the cheapy syringes:)

Lil, I have yet to get a deal on strips like the one you set up for me. I`m burning through those suckers!
Thanks for checking in:)
 
I was told a couple of times, in the beginning, when I went to WalMart, that they did not have the syringes with 1/2 unit marks. I stood my ground and said "Yes, you do". They found them.
I used to call them a day or two ahead of time, in case they sometimes had to order them.
Now, at the new WalMart that just opened last year, the pharmacists all know me, and there is never a problem.
The boxes do not say on them "1/2 unit marks", so I guess the pharmacists get confused.
 
Thanks Dyana!!! I will stand firm the next time I`m there so they get to know me as well:)
 
I get my 1/2 unit syringes at Save On Foods, don't think you have them there. But Neko is entered into their pharmacy computer so they know what syringes she needs when I go for a refill.
 
Re: 05/2 Ella +11:15 =331 ambg 313,amps 331+1=333+2=364+6=33

tpr said:
Ok I'm all for being safe! I'm wondering if I should have a no shoot number in the mornings and if so, what would that number be?
Click to expand...
I wish I had a good answer for this question. That is one reason why we wanted to start over on such a small dose. Before, she was dropping even from higher preshots, making it hard to say for sure "this is a safe number to shoot." By clearing out the depot and starting over, we'll be able to see with more clarity what is safe for Ella and what is not. We might have to start with a higher no-shoot number and then gradually lower the threshhold as we go.

I realize that by skipping shots I will be messing with her shed but as I wrote earlier I am still concerned about leaving her on a daily basis as she is an unreliable eater.
Click to expand...
This is one of the things Jill and I are concerned about too. With my Lucy, I knew if she went low she would eat. It's harder to know what to do when you can't depend on the cat to take care of herself. I hope Ella would eat if she started feeling low. Have you ever noticed her going to the food dish on her own when she has been dropping?

For what it's worth, by the time I had Jazzy I was working a LOT, and was having some health problems too. If she was low in the morning and I didn't feel comfortable shooting, I didn't. Sheds refill, numbers will come back down, it's not the end of the world to miss a shot. Better safe than sorry. You can click on Jazzy's spreadsheet to see how many shots I missed. I'm embarrassed about the shots I missed because I was sick and forgot or fell asleep, but I'm not at all embarrassed by the ones I missed because I was afraid to shoot and go to work. This is coming from a person who loves to "shoot low to stay low," but safety first.

If I did the Go slow protocol as opposed to tight regulation could I find myself in the same situation? I'm assuming I could but looking at the spread sheets of members from that group, I can see that they test approx twice a day. Is that because they hold the doses for much longer and/or increase by different amounts?
Click to expand...
You would probably find yourself in the same situation, mostly because Ella is so sensitive to a small dose of insulin. It's not which protocol you are following, it's the way she is reacting to insulin. Secretly, I was hoping that our little "experiment" the last couple of days would show that Ella didn't actually need insulin anymore. Unfortunately she is not there yet, but we'll keep trying. :mrgreen:

I'm not sure why some people only test twice a day. It wouldn't be comfortable for me to not have any idea what is going on between the shots. Once I had Jazzy well regulated, I was able to test 3 times a day most days (preshots and once at night, and more on the weekends), but she was super predictable and I had done enough testing in the past to understand her patterns. Once she started changing her patterns, I had to step up the testing again.

Having a vet tech come in to check on Ella would be ideal but they would have to be extremly flexible as they might need to spend hours here sorting her out if her bg's were dropping. An alternative, which I have been thinking about but is not ideal for me, is moving up to my paren'ts home and teaching my mom how to test. Unfortunately, this passes my stress on to her as well as adds a VERY long commute to work and sepreates me from my DH. If it has to be done...then it has to be done but surely there must be others that have gotten their kitties OTJ without being home 24-7? No?
Click to expand...
Ella is more challenging than many of the cats here, but I am confident we'll be able to figure something out that will work. You don't need to move! We have had micro-dose cats and very sensitive cats here before. It takes a little more work to figure them out, but it is definitely possible.

Perhaps I can get some feedback from those who have been in a similar situation...although I realize Ella is unique:)
Another alternative is just getting her surfing in the blue/yellow range until I am off at the end of June. Would this route hinder her chances of going OTJ?
Click to expand...
Renal threshhold for most cats is thought to be somewhere around 200-230. Some have found their cat's renal threshhold to be a bit lower than that. I would aim to be under that for sure. With Lucy, after she had been on insulin for a while I thought I would just aim for surfing blue forever (I thought she wouldn't go OTJ). I never did figure out how to dose her that way - too little insulin and she just stayed too high, increase the dose a little bit and she would plunge to low green. Jazzy was a lot easier - she had very flat cycles and I was able to steer the flatness into the range I wanted. Usually the cat is the one choosing the direction, and we just have to hang on for the ride!
 
Thanks for your response Libby:) I think I will just skip shots if I`m not feeling comforatble as it`s better safe than sorry. Ella has only come to me once when she was low and was in a panic for food. That was when she was eating dry and on 4 units. I remember shrugging her off as it was early and I was a sleepy. She was relentless which propelled me to test her and low and behold, she was very low! There is no doubt in my mind that if she had dry kibble she would sort herself out but seeing as she likes her food warmed... well I can`t help her out if I`m not home:(
I can only hope that she would suck it up and do the right thing.
She has been so hungry ever since she`s been pink. She`s searching the house for food like crazy!!!
Tonight when I dosed her, I pressed REALLY hard on the syringe to get the teeny tiny dose out. When I pulled it out and pressed firmly on the plunger, I noticed a very small bubble. I stuck it back in to shoot her. I hope that was alright. I didn`t want her to miss out on anything:)
 
Hi Tamara,
Libby has given you lots to think about. And it is so true that the kitty is in the driver's seat: we are just along for the ride!

It's fine to shoot that tiny drop that sometimes lingers in the needle after you pull the syringe out. I do that whenever it happens, and I know that many others do too.

I hope you will have a good evening and a restful night and that Ella will present you with some safe numbers that are neither too low nor too high.

:YMHUG: :YMHUG:

Ella & Rusty
 
Tamara:

you are doing fantastic! You are being so diligent and safe with Ella and that is what is most important. I am fervently hoping that this little dose will be the one that works for her once her shed refills.

I always check at night to see where she is and since you did give insulin both cycles today, she has a small shed to fill (or so we think). I'll just be lurking in case she decides to drop ;-) Maybe she will surprise
us all and slowly glide down into beautiful numbers!!

Big hugs!
 
Wishful thinking Marjorie...I love it but I just did her +3 and she is 356:( I am sad to see her in the pinks for so long:( I worry about her health. I really hope she will present us with something better soon.
 
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